Rating: Mature for violence, language and eventual sexual content.

Synopsis: Victor Creed is tired. Tired of his life, tired of who he is and tired of being alone. Can some chance encounters set him on a new path? Can who he is and who he has the potential to be meet somewhere in the middle? Not a Mary-Sue and not completely OOC either. This is the Wolverine Origins version of Victor Creed because I was over the moon impressed with Liev Shreiber's portrayal.

Genre: Action/Romance

A/N: Set after X3. Any grammar or spelling errors made by the boys is part of the dialogue and meant to represent how a young child speaks.

Natural Selection

He heard the brats before he saw them. Of course, he wasn't seeing much, other than filthy pavement as he was laying face down in what he assumed to be an alley , God knows where. He had been so bored last night that he set out to see if it was actually possible to drink an entire bars worth of alcohol. The details were fuzzy, which meant he was at least successful enough to actually get drunk enough to give himself alcohol poisoning.

"Mister," a small voice tentatively inquired. "Mister, are you okay?"

"Maybe he's dead," another voice, slightly higher, chimed in. The brat sounded slightly scared, slightly hopeful. He almost snorted aloud.

"Nuh-uh," the first voice replied scornfully. "Look, he's breathin'."

He smirked and held his breath for a moment.

"Are you sure," the higher voice queried. He could hear and feel them moving closer.

"Danny don't touch him," he heard the first voice say just before he exploded into a blur of motion, pulling his knees up under his body, and then rocketing himself into a stand in less than a heartbeat. Another insanely fast blur of motion had him turned and facing them. His theatrics had the desired effect. They were standing there, frozen and slack jawed. He growled softly, and smirked again as he saw the taller one pull the smaller one , Danny, most likely, behind him.

The older one kept his eyes on him, while trying to back up slowly. Danny however, was impeding his efforts. He kept trying to peek around the barrier of the bigger one's body.

"Patrick," he whined. "I can't see."

"You don't need to," Patrick said fiercely. "Just keep moving back."

He chuckled at that. That wouldn't save them, not if he really wanted to hurt them. Which, oddly enough, he didn't. Scare them a little, maybe. Give them a reminder of why they should stay out of alleys and any other places where things like him lurked.

"Patrick and Danny," he growled, looking at each one in turn. They froze and stared up at him saucer eyed. He held back another chuckle and smiled at them purposely showing his fangs.

Patrick gasped. "You've got fangs!"

"He's got claws too," Danny chimed in. "I saw 'em when he was layin' down." Danny pushed his way in front of Patrick. "I bet he's a mutant! Are you , mister? Are you a mutant?"

Patrick's skin turned a shade best compared to cottage cheese. "Shut up, Danny!"

Danny gasped and turned to him in outrage. "You're not asposed to say shut up! Mom said-"

"You brother," he cut in, in the hopes of stopping the younger ones whining. He had restrained himself admirably so far, but hell, animals ate their young for less.

"Yup, " Danny answered. "And he's in trouble cause he said a no-no and-"

Patrick rolled his eyes and said "Be quiet, Danny. Now."

Danny scowled and muttered under his breath, " You didn't say please.'

He chuckled again and asked , " Got stuck with you little brother today?"

Patrick sighed. "Yeah. And he never listens. Never!"

"They never do, kid. Little brothers are always getting into shit."

Both boys gasped at his use of profanity. Danny pointed at him and bounced up and down. "He said a no-no! He said a no-no! He said-"

His sing song chant was cut off as Patrick clapped his hand over his mouth. "Enough, Danny. Keep quiet, alright?" He held his hand there until Danny nodded somewhat sulkily. He watched as Patrick rubbed a comforting hand across the back of Danny's neck and his heart stuttered a little. Damned if it didn't remind him of him and Jimmy. He felt a sort of bittersweet nostalgia mixed with wry amusement. Little brothers really were a pain in the ass.

Patrick bit his lip before stepping forward boldly. "So, are you," he asked.

"Am I what, " he replied, daring the boy to have the balls to really ask the question. He raised an eyebrow, waiting.

Danny pulled on his arm, trying to get his attention. Maybe he finally realized just how close to danger they were. Patrick took Danny's hand off his arm, gave it a little squeeze and held it. The simple touch calmed the boy.

Just like him and Jimmy, he thought and felt his stomach clench. He remembered all the things they used to say to each other without ever saying a word. The looks, the gestures, the tiny touches that would send a clear message, but only to each other. The language only they knew. God, so much that could be conveyed by touch, so many messages sent and received wordlessly.

He realized he'd been staring at their joined hands for a while and smiled wryly. "What if I am?" He watched them intently, waiting for their response.

Patrick bit his lip again before replying." Then you should be careful."

He blinked in surprise. He should be careful? The four foot nothing' brat thought HE should be careful? Too rich.

"Why, " he asked.

To his surprise, Patrick came closer. "Down the street, there's this crappy bar. It used to be a biker bar, but now there are all these Friends of Humanity dorks there."

He was surprised again. " Thanks for the warning, kid," he said seriously.

Patrick flushed and then stood a little taller. He managed not to smile at the display. The kid was brave enough to warn him about possible danger, he deserved to feel a little proud of himself.

"Can you fly, " Danny asked.

Patrick rolled his eyes and gave a gusty sigh.

"No," he replied, chuckling.

"Oh," Danny said, mildly disappointed. "Well, what can you do?"

He lengthened his claws and smiled widely, showing as much fang as possible. "Eat nosy kids, " he growled out menacingly, getting ready to enjoy the moment they bolted.

Their eyes were huge again, completely focused on his fangs and claws.

Danny was the first to recover. "Cool, " he said matter of factly.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, Victor Creed was startled into genuine laughter.